ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -In Shakespeare’s day, female parts were played by male actors, while more recently, actresses have taken on some of his most famous male roles such as Hamlet and Julius Caesar.

Detailed explanation-2: -Men basically functioned as the ruling voice over all aspects of society; “. . . all forms of public and domestic authority in Elizabethan England were vested in men: in fathers, husbands, masters, teachers, preachers, magistrates, [and] lords” (Montrose 68). Women had virtually no control over their role in society.

Detailed explanation-3: -Women were expected to be subservient, quiet and homebound, with their primary ambitions entirely confined to marriage, childbirth and homemaking; granted, social status and economic class played into what degree these expectations manifested, with the chief example being Queen Elizabeth I herself.

Detailed explanation-4: -In Shakespeare’s theatre actors were called players. There were no actresses, so women’s parts were played by boys. Some boys began their careers as Children of the Chapel Royal, while others were taken on by companies to play female roles.

Detailed explanation-5: -According to Jeanne Gerlach, Rudolph Almasy, and Rebecca Daniel in their essay “Revisiting Shakespeare and Gender” define that men in Renaissance society were expected to engage in public affairs in the way of soldiers, politicians, and other leaders; to be talkers, decision makers, and move events forward.